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Upcoming African Shows in LA!

We are big fans of the cultures and music of Africa and its diaspora and blessed with such a vibrant African community here in LA. There are a lot of great can’t-miss African events coming up between now and November, so mark your calendars and get your tickets because some of these are almost sold-out! Want to stay in the loop on African cultural events & music shows? Check out our friends at Radio Afrodicia, Primitive Modern Arts who just recently hosted an incredible in-house performance by Wunmi, and the weekly Afro Funke.Meet & Greet Reception honoring Miss Israel 2013 @ Little Ethiopia – Sat 9/28: Yityish Aynaw, first African descendant to be crowned Miss Israel, is coming to Los Angeles. She is also a descendant of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba.

Mali Fala Fun(d)Raiser @ Echo Garden Cottage and Gallery, 1858 Echo Park Ave Los Angeles, 90026 – Sat. 9/28
Please join us for our 7th annual fun(d)raiser, and help to build a village school library in Tamale, Ghana in 2014. All monies raised at this upcoming event will be used at the Bizung Music School founded by Playing for Change, where we will provide them with a much-needed library. Tax-deductible tickets are $50 in advance $60 at the door. To purchase tickets or make a donation please visit our website: http://malifalafund.org/ Click on the Donate button where you can make your payment via Paypal. Music from Ghana featuring: Alidu and the Bizung Family. Music from Mali featuring: African Cowboy Robert Berryman. Drum circle Silent auction, Cash raffle Appetizers and drinks and much more! This will be an exciting, fun filled evening supporting a wonderful cause with the opportunity to help those in need.

Kara Mack @The Talking Stick – Sat. 9/28: Kara Mack will be back at the Talking Stick…and now featuring songs from her debut album “A Negroe’s Spiritual”. Put on your dancing shoes and be ready to get down to this amazing new project that Kara has finally released everywhere online! For the past 10 years, Kara Mack has immersed herself in the African Diaspora; going to the sources of each to study the music, dance, and culture individually. She even traveled to Guinea, West Africa in 2007 and studied during a time when the country declared martial law. It was during this time as well that Kara began to see the connections between every style and how important it was for the people who love such cultures to see the similarities as well. So sitting one night under the stars in Guinea, West Africa, she knew her first album would be called “A Negroe’s Spiritual”. A play off of the style that is the foundation of American music and the heart of her Southern roots, “A Negroe’s Spiritual” is a testimony of Kara’s life and a musical bridge connecting all African styles from around the world.

Hollywood Black Film Festival @ The Montalban – Oct. 2 – 6: For the first time, the Hollywood Black Film Festival is featuring a night devoted solely to films from the African Diaspora (beyond the U.S.). Film Diaspora consists of the screening of 11 films from countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Haiti, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Bukina Faso, South Africa and Madagascar. Following the screenings we will have an after party and awards ceremony where we will acknowledge three Entertainment Industry professionals, that are of African or Caribbean Heritage.

Cameras d’Afrique: The Films of West Africa @ LMU and LACMA – Oct. 3 – 28: Over 20 fiction and nonfiction films will offer students and general audiences a rare look at the wealth of cinematic talent that has emerged from West Africa in the last 50 years. Long a Francophone section of the African continent, the films generated from directors as varied as the Senegalese artists Ousmane Sembène to the Diop family–director Djibril Diop Mambéty, his composer brother Wasis and Wasis’ daughter, Mati–and Mali’s Souleymane Cissé wrestle with the cultural imperialism of Europe, while observing the traditions that shaped West Africa. Featuring appearances by directors, panels and a series of four free community screenings on the LMU campus.

South African Arts Fest @ Downtown LA – Fri. 10/4 – Sun 10/6: The arts of South Africa saturate downtown L.A. for a weekend rich in cultural connections. The “South African Arts Festival 2013” (SAAF) is a vibrant festival of music and film. This inaugural two-day celebration, commissioned by the Republic of South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture, showcases some of the country’s beloved musical icons and introduces Angenelos to powerful emerging voices.

World Blues featuring Taj Mahal, Vusi Mahlasela, Deva Mahal & Fredericks Brown @ Pepperdine University– Sun 10/6: “World Blues” is a celebration of American blues music’s global influence as seen from three very diverse points of view and three international points of origin. Anchored by iconic folk-blues legend Taj Mahal, the evening will also feature the soulful South African blues of guitarist/vocalist Vusi Mahlasela and the more modern rock-and-roll perspective of Fredericks Brown, a band featuring Taj’s daughter, Deva Mahal, who hails from New Zealand.

Grand Park Turns One! Sidi Toure, Ethio Cali and more @ Grand Park – Thu 10/10: Grand Park celebrates a year of countless friendships made in the heart of LA. On THURS OCT 10, Jeremy Sole of KCRW, Ethio Cali, and the international blues collaboration between Cedric Watson (USA) and Sidi Toure (Mali) join forces at the annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days concert, along with the most important guest – YOU!

Rokia Traoré @ Luckman Fine Arts Center – 11/23: At the forefront of the Malian roots movement, Rokia Traoré’s music explores traditional African rhythms and effortlessly blends them with American blues and soul beats. Making her Los Angeles debut at the Luckman, Rokia Traoré will perform her new album, Beautiful Africa, in its entirety. It’s a terrific album! Have a 1st listen here.

2 thoughts on “Upcoming African Shows in LA!”

Thank you for compiling this information. Please consider changing the image you posted to accompany the Guinea Independence Day event. At the moment it is a photo of someone from Papua New Guinea (in the Pacific).

Guinea celebrates 55 years of indpendence from France this year, the first colony in West Africa to do so completely.